Charlotte Pitt's mother has lost a locket holding a compromising picture. Arriving at her mother's home at Rutland Place to help her search, Charlotte discovers that other residents of the exclusive neighbourhood have suffered similar unexplained small thefts. Then Mina Spencer-Brown, a woman known for prying, dies from poisoning.
It seems likely that Mina's snooping had led to her murder, but what secrets had she stumbled upon? And whose? As Thomas Pitt patiently struggles to break down the protective silence of London's high society, Charlotte works behind its closed doors to help unravel a mystery revealing sordid secrets and the chilling, dark corners of human behaviour.